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Thursday, August 4, 2016

LOOKING AT THE HEART

1 Samuel 16:7 New Living Translation
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
       This event found in the first book of the Samuel, Israel’s last judge, shows us the criteria God uses to see the true value and motive of a man.  He can do what no mortal man can do; he can see the true nature of one’s heart.   This world is so fixated on the outward appearance of an individual that they overlook the type of person they truly are.  Samuel was to pick Saul’s successor.  The King had worn on God’s patience to the point where it was time for him to be replaced.  The Lord sent Samuel to the tribe of Jesse.  He looked over each of Jesse’s sons thoroughly and based on their outward appearance thought that any one of them would have been a sound choice, but the Lord said ‘no’. Samuel was looking for a man who was tall and handsome with the appearance of a commander.  The Jews were looking for that type of man in the Messiah as well.  It would appear that we are all flawed in that way. 
       God uses who or what he chooses to accomplish his will.  Here is used a mere boy in David.  He knew that David had a heart after him and that his motives were pure.  That was his choice for the next King of Israel.  David became the greatest King Israel ever had. 
       The Lord many times uses the exact opposite of what we would use.  Paul speaks of this in his first letter to the Corinthian church.  “… but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”  (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)  Now David certainly wasn’t despised or weak, but he also wasn’t who Samuel would have chosen if the choice had been left up to him.  We must learn to see others as our Lord sees them.  It’s the only way we can ever hope to make a difference for God in this world.  Making decisions regarding others based on who the Lord says they truly are is one of the only things that makes us different than those who are unsaved.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
Resource: The Life Application Study Bible; published by Tyndale House.

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